NEAH BAY — Bayview Avenue took on a carnival-like atmosphere Monday as Neah Bay welcomed thousands of pullers and spectators for the 2010 Tribal Canoe Journey.
The Makah reservation on the remote northwest tip of the Lower 48 states is the final destination for nearly 100 canoes that traveled for the past two weeks from tribes throughout Western Washington and British Columbia.
Barbecue smoke filled the air on Neah Bay’s main street in the hours leading up to the ceremonial canoe landings. Traffic was diverted to side roads Monday to accommodate the masses.
“There’s a lot of hungry people,” said Chris LaChester of Neah Bay, who was shucking corn near the C Food stand on Portage Street.
“I think it’s pretty awesome, really.”
LaChester and his friends at the hot dog and spaghetti stand described a sense of anticipation in Neah Bay as the canoe teams made their final pulls to complete what for some has been a two-week voyage.
Bill Simmons and Rich Goolsby of St. Louis cooked salmon in a smoky picnic hut using a traditional Makah method.
Under the direction of tribal member Joe Jimmicum, the volunteer cooks and their child helpers attached full filets of coho and king salmon onto large skewers and cooked them over an open flame near the landing site.
“They are going to be taking over,” Jimmicum said of the busy child cooks.
The volunteers hoped to cook 300 fish, seasoned with salt and pepper, for the Tribal Canoe Journey’s community feast Monday night at the central event tent on the Neah Bay High School football field.
Cooks at three other wood-flame pits worked simultaneously to prepare the giant meal, Simmons said
“This is a really special event,” said Simmons, who was asked to volunteer by the Makah Lutheran Church.
About 80 vendors sold food, clothes and arts and crafts from tents that lined Bayview Avenue.
Tribal songs and drums were heard up and down the road, along with hip-hop music from inside Herb’s Barber & Beauty Place tent.
Claplanhoo’s Fresh Halibut Fish and Chips doled out large $8 plates of hot seafood.
Seattle Mariners hot dogs, ice cream and hot espresso complemented the menu.
Children drew on paper cutouts of canoes in hopes of winning an art raffle at a Good News stand.
“It looks amazing out here,” said Steve Meyers of Arlington, who runs the same church booth during Makah Days.
But unlike Makah Days, which tends to be slow on the first day in the last weekend in August, Meers said foot traffic was steady all day Monday.
The sun burned through a thin layer of clouds well in advance of the ceremonial landings at about 3 p.m.
A single row of 65 camping chairs was lined up next to a makeshift longhouse that was built for the landings on the beach.
Community infrastructure improvements were evident in the new access ramps to the beach, a new gymnasium, an expanded senior citizens deck and expanded community dance floor.
Several sets of bleachers and large logs were placed on the beach for the landings, in which each tribe asked for permission to land its canoe.
Freshly cut lawns in the town’s neighborhoods were dotted with tents for the visiting tribes.
The weeklong event will feature nightly protocols with tribal songs, dancing, drumming and storytelling. The festivities will run until the Makah perform their protocol on Saturday or possibly on Sunday.
Tribal Canoe Journey ends at a different tribe every year. The Lower Elwha Klallam hosted it in 2005.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
